Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz intends to examine Eilat port potential

Mofaz expressed his commitment to the port as a strategic port to the Israeli economy.  The question of linking Eilat port to the Israeli railway network was the main issue raised by the port managing director
 
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz visited last week the port of Eilat to study present & future problems facing the port.
 
The port of Eilat is Israel's southern gateway to the Far East, South Africa and Australia without having to pass through the Suez Canal, thus avoiding high passage tariffs that increase the cost of shipping.
 
The Port of Eilat is a modern facility with cranes for handling general cargo and containers and automatic loaders for handling phosphates and potash . It has a 12 meter water depth at the quay, and is able to service panamax ships.
 
The question of linking Eilat port to the Israeli railway network was the main issue raised by the port managing director Mr. Moshe Mitz who called upon the Minister to devote the necessary NIS300 million for the planning of the long awaited railway line.
 
The other issue raised by the port was the ways and means the government should take in order to equip the port for the time Zim Lines would stop calling at the port.
 
The Minister expressed his commitment to the port as a strategic port to the Israeli economy and said that a special committee would be set up headed by Mr. Gideon Siterman, director general of the Ministry of Transport, to study the various strategic  alternatives the port may adopt in order to avoid closure.